Phillip’s Blog

As can be seen by the date gaps in my posts I don’t write very often.   I like to use the excuse that I try to keep quiet unless I have something useful to say.  That being said, I hope that what I say here will be useful to someone.

As well as being a a musician who dabbles in guitar repair work; I also record and produce music for other people. I have a home studio that is quite well equipped to handle most small productions. I usually work with singer songwriters. I primarily record acoustic music, but I have recorded, with good results, rock, pop and blues also.  Often people who know that I do this kind of work approach me, but instead of asking if I will record, or produce them they ask about which microphones are the best choice for them, so that they can record themselves.  As this has happened a few times now I thought I would speak to that question a little bit here. And hopefully the information will help you in choosing your first microphone for recording.

I want to start off by making some distinctions between live and studio microphones.  They are different!!  Microphones designed for the stage usually work best on a stage and studio mics obviously perform their best when used in the studio environment.  Having said that there are  situations where  studio mics can be used for live sound reinforcement and there are times when stage mics might just suite a studio application.  The right tool is always best to use for the right job.  The next big thing to mention is that there are three basic kinds of microphones. Dynamic, condenser (or capacitor) and ribbon mics. Dynamic mics are often associated with live performance and the others with studio use.  This, as mentioned above, is not always the case though.

As the questions I often get asked usually pertain to recording I will now focus on studio microphones.   I will give you a quick rundown of what mics are best suited for studio use , cost effectivene$$ in choosing a mic and then mention a few names of microphones  and mic brands that I like to use  and why.   Typically condenser and ribbon microphones are used in a studio environment. Condenser mics are much more responsive than dynamic mics and and can reproduce a broader range of frequencies when recording.  Basically in most cases they make a clearer, cleaner recording.  There are different diaphragm sizes also, so be sure to choose the size that is best suited to your needs. Some have selectable polar patterns, that can be very useful in different applications. Some condenser mics use a vacuum tube in their circuitry, which helps to shape the sonic characteristic of the microphone. They also must have 48v phantom power available for their use, or come with their own power supply. Ribbon mics are much less responsive and do not require phantom power,  but in capturing sound they have characteristics which many artists and engineers find sonically pleasing.  They do, however,  have a much lower output level, so when using them for recording you have to boost the gain going into your recording device.  These kinds of microphones are very sensitive. And must be handled carefully. A condenser mic uses a capsule with a very thin electronically charged membrane to capture the sound and it can easily become damaged if not used correctly.  Ribbon mics use a thin metal ribbon which is also very sensitive. Like the membrane on a condenser mic It can dry out if not stored properly and become damaged when faced with too much sound pressure.

Dynamic microphones, when not on a stage,  are usually used for  recording drums, or other high volume instruments (loud electric guitar cabinets for example) .  This does not exclude them from being used for other applications, but in most studio situations a good condenser is your best choice. Dynamic mics can handle much higher levels of sound pressure and are usually much more rugged in their design. They can take a bit more of a beating. With any good microphone, however,  proper use, storage, care and maintenance should ensure good results for a long time to come.

Now let’s talk about co$t. Like everything else in the world usually you get what you pay for.  The more expensive the microphone the better the results can be.  When used incorrectly, however,  even the most costly mic won’t produce good results.  I also want to say that much of the time although the quality of a particular microphone may be very high the cost of the unit is often simply due to the name of it’s manufacturer.  Neumann microphones are great mics without a doubt, but still much of their higher price point rides on the name and not just the quality.  It is very possible to purchase a microphone at a much lower price point and achieve  quite similar sonic results. Bare in mind that when recording everything you put in that signal chain will affect the sound of the recording. You might be singing into a wonderful Neumann U49 microphone( and they do sound sweet) but if you put a garbage pre amp between that mic and the recorder, or you set your levels incorrectly you  will not get the sound you hoped for.  When choosing your first mic I suggest two things. Make sure you select a mic which is versatile and would work well on vocals, guitars and other instruments.  This way when overdubbing (which when we record ourselves is often what we do)  you have a mic that can do  all you need it to do.  And the second thing is spend as much as you can.  Cheaping out on a mic will surely reflect on the recordings that you make.  Aim for a mid to higher price point when buying.  In that price range you usually get the most bang for your buck. Your ears and your fans ears will thank you for it later.

For the most part the microphones that I use fall well within that mid to higher price range.  For vocals  I like to use my Audio Technica 4060. It is a large diaphragm tube condenser microphone which is quite articulate and has a smooth, natural sonic character to it. It works well on 99% of the singers that I put in front of it.  This mic generally costs around $1400. It is the most expensive mic that I own.  I also use for general purpose mics Audio Technica 4040’s and on guitars and other instruments AT3031’s.  These mics  cost anywhere form $200-$400.  They are clean, clear and articulate sounding microphones and are great for recording acoustic instruments.  I also like to use CAD microphones. I have a CAD e300 and a cad M9 tube condenser.  They both perform very well for vocals and when micing instruments.  They have a rich meaty low end and an extremely  silky high end which can really bring “air” into any recording.  These microphones are truly designed for recording in the digital age. CAD mics usually range anywhere from $200 to $500.

So there you have it. I hope this little post will help you when it comes time to choose a microphone for your home studio. But if you really don’t want to bother with all that you can just come to me and I will make you sound great!!

I know that it’s been a while since the last time that I posted, but I suppose that the less I post the more meaningful each little rant, or letter becomes.

I’d like to talk about something neither related to music, guitars, or anything in that range of topics. As of late I have been faced with many sketchy  labor practices at my place of work. I am a part time service employee for a hospital in Toronto Ontario. For the sake of not risking legal issues I won’t mention the name, but it’s one of the largest in North America and certainly the largest in Toronto.

As a union shop we have a collective agreement between the hospital and the union. Now what has been happening is the hospital has been directly violating many articles of said agreement. Everything from not following scheduling rules to having employees carry  out duties and tasks which are neither in their job description, nor within their job classification. All this is happening while we are due for a new collective agreement and the hospital and our union have both walked away from negotiations. So not only is our current collective agreement out of date, but the hospital is taking advantage of the weak union by breaking the rules and simply brushing complaints off as if they we never brought up.

What it appears the hospital is trying to do is to declassify  many of the service jobs in the hospital in order to make a large labor pool. The result of this is, for the most part, poorly trained employees who become a jack of all trades and a master of none. Another result is a lack of pride and ownership of the job. When you come into work and don’t even know what you are doing that day you are less prepared for the days work and frustrated when shortly after your day begins you are pulled from that task and sent to do another. And because you are less trained and less skilled and now less enthusiastic about your work patient safety becomes an issue. You no longer have a professional carrying out a job. You have a person who does a bunch of things less of the time and who may not be particularly great at any of them. Thus you put patients who are already sick and in need of care at a greater risk. And ultimately lessen the quality of patient care.

Although it certainly may seem helpful to the organization to be able to pull employees from their assigned tasks when help is needed in other areas what occurs is essentially the equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Job (A) doesn’t get finished, because  job (B) needs a little extra manpower. Why does this happen? The answer is simple. The hospital doesn’t want to spend money, that is there for just that purpose, on calling in the right, and  properly classified employee to work as extra help. What they do instead is take the cheaper approach and pull an employee from their assigned task who is already working in another area that day and has been given a little training  and send them to the area which needs help.

Sure it saves money, which we here in Ontario love to do especially in health care, but it’s a saving at the risk of the people who are depending on proper care being provided to them.  If you want to save money  how about stop building big fancy entrances and hospital lobbies. How about cutting back on catered management lunches, and upper management salaries. How about stop wasting money on unnecessarily hiring and training contract employees just to let  three quarters of them go six months down the road. Can’t do that though. Hiring all those people gives the hospital and the government a good statistic saying that they provided so many jobs in the last fiscal year. The waste of spending in health care and the amount of political choices made is sickening. It adds to the poor quality patient care and a lower quality of life for many health care workers below management level.

Now as a final note I mentioned the union being weak. This is true. Our union has done little to effectively improve the situation. The shear passive attitude of our chief union rep and all of the union staff above his level would be grounds for expulsion by the standards of any other union. They are just as guilty as the hospital is and of the government for allowing this wholesale mistreatment of employees and the risking of patient safety to continue.

Now how is that for something different!

Talk to you all soon.

Two of the things that have sort of been the thorn in my side as far as the music business is concerned are getting that really great, perfect sounding record made and getting people to find out about it. Now before I go further I want to confess that I know that I am not the best song writer/musician out there and I am certainly not the most popular artist, but I do know a little about those ideas.

Let’s start with making that “album.” You know that one that you have always dreamed of making? First of all you really can do it with out the help of a big time record company and all of their money. Music production today is in many ways cheaper than it has ever been.  You can create  Nashville quality recordings in your own home if you have but a few select pieces of gear.  Usually good mics, good pres, good instruments and of course a good artist do the trick. And of course the skills to use all that gear well enough to get “that sound.” Now if do it yourself is not your style then seek out a good studio. In this age of recording the truth of the matter is that digital is digital. It doesn’t matter what you use to record your tracks to all you need is the a good sound going on to that digital format and a means of taking it and putting it into other programs and you have the potential for a serious production. I recorded my second album (Cafe Mirage) at home. I then put the wave files from my digital workstation on to cd and took them into another studio where we mixed and mastered the record. As for the quality of that recording check out the music and the see for yourself. The proof is in the pudding. My website www.phillipbrownmusic.com and my myspace www.myspace.com/phillipbrownmusic both have cuts from the album available for listening. Keep in mind that you don’t need to spend $100 an hour, or more for studio time there are many talented engineers out there who run great little studios and charge $50, or less per hour and can really get you what you are looking for. Now with that said if you have got the talent the more money and time you can spend on a record really does allow you more freedom where production is concerned. Larger and more well known studios usually offer more services and have better facilities for music production. Shop around and get the most bang for your buck. It really helps to have a good idea of the scope of your project in mind when choosing the place to turn your vision into a reality.

If you are making a larger production record, or just want steller musicianship on your album it doesn’t hurt to hire a hot shot session musician, or two. Really good session musicians are worth the money!!! First and foremost they are gooood! Being professionals they play their instrument all the time and often know what to play and where in the song to play it. They work quickly too. This will save you money in the studio by spending less time waiting for someone to get a part just right. These people can often have their parts figured out and usable material recorded within minutes. I really recommend it if you can afford it. As for yourself make sure you are well rehearsed and really ready for recording too. Again much time and money can easily be wasted on getting a part right when all you had to do was have the part ready before you got there.  Don’t forget that this album represents you, so you want to make it the best that you can. Also you are  competing with other artists. Many of whom have big labels and big money behind them. I think that the most important things are not only be good at our craft, but also to have a record that does justice to the music.  It’s got to sound professional to be taken seriously. I absolutely hate to see an artist perform a great song that they wrote, then have them give me a cd with a poor recording on it. Remember that when you give someone something to listen to you are letting them take you home with them. If you sound like crap at home they aren’t likely to come out and see you play live.

Ahhh yes getting people to come to a show, or getting popular. How it frustrates me so. Now you have this great album “the album of all albums.” Now how do you get people to find out about it? I had a meeting with my publicist a few days ago during which we discussed the pains of getting people in the know about you and what you do. Promotion is the toughest and most costly part, I think, of being a musician. Touring is the best promotion, but it still costs lots of money to do it. We all would love to have that big record executive happen to stop by a club where we are playing,  love what they hear and pull out a contract for us to sign right then and there. Lets face it you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning that you would have at getting a record deal. It’s that simple. Unless you are really lucky and the record people happen to hear and love you  you have a lot of work cut out for you.  Now I don’t mean to make things sound so bleak, not at all, but I do want to stress how bloody hard and frustrating it can be. When you spend many months and lots of money promoting the release of your greatest project to date then a grand total of 30 people come to the release concert (including your Mom and Dad and brother and sister) you start to wonder weather or not there is even a point in trying. Well there certainly is. You will find that as time goes on something is gained with each effort you make to get you and your music out there. Sometimes you get a new fan, or two, sell a couple of cds. Sometimes you simply gain  knowledge and experience both of which are worth more than any amount of money. It seems to me that everything boils down to time. The more you do the more you know and then more people know about you. Building a career and a following in the music business is crazy hard. It’s a huge, complicated game and there are many players. Each of them with the same goal and becoming successful.

Now your measure of success is what you make it. If you just want to put on some shows for your friends and family and give them some music to listen to and you have done that then you are successful. If you are more ambitious and want to make music you career then be persistant and patient, because it could take a few years before you can start to making a living off of your art.

The only real advice that I can feel good about giving you is to do as much as you can as often as you can for as long as you can. Use the internet, tell your friends  and their friends and get them to tell their friends. If you can get away with it exploit your workplace. I work at a hospital where there are lots of people who might just be interested in what I am doing. It all starts with a good song. Then if you work hard and passionately it’s only a matter of time before people start to catch on.

I was asked to speak more about the topic of “recessions and guitarists” so this little not is a bit of an extension of my last post.

One of the major themes of my last blog was the idea of pricing for a hand made guitar. Last night I was out at a local jam and I had the opportunity to converse with a young aspiring guitar maker. One thing he had e many times throughout the conversation was the cost of building the instrument. Also something that I have a little bit of experience with from having been repairing and rebuilding guitars for the last 7 years, or so.

Materials for building high end quality instruments are NOT cheap! In tough economic times things can get even harder. More so as the more desired woods become even harder to find. A relatively plain and simple looking set of Indian rosewood for the back and sides of a guitar can often cost upwards of $500. A nice spruce top can cost sometimes cost as much. The more exotic and higher quality the wood the higher the cost. A chunk of mahogany for the neck can cost easily $200 bucks. So before the guitar is even touched by the builder you looking at about $1000 for the instrument. Not to mention the costs of other materials for bindings, perflings inlay work, frets, strutting material and so on. With that in mind now think about the labour involved in constructing the instrument. The hundreds of hours spent designing (and usually not using a computer program) and carving, cutting, sanding, shaping and fitting. With the work involved in making the guitar , as one builder commented, they probably make often less then $10 an hour.  Unless you are charging a real premium on you instruments then you are not doing it for the money.

So next time you see a guitar that is a little out of your price range and start cursing the guy who put that price on the instrument remember what kind of costs and the work that goes into it’s creation.  Also remember that if there were no guitars there would be no guitarists. I hope this gives you a little more insight on general topic. Until next time. Take care and keep playing good song.

So lately I have been chatting a little with an acquaintance of mine who owns a high end guitar shop (the best in my opinion) in Toronto Canada. He mentioned that surprisingly, even though there is a recession, their profit for the last fiscal year was down only a small percentage from the previous year, which was their best year yet. I guess that it’s safe to say that guitarists who are serious enough will get what they need regardless of the state of the economy.  Business is not down much from before this recession occurred.

Now with the above in mind and with the rising Canadian dollar now is a good time to buy a guitar in Canada.  Not so much for Americans, but guitars are often cheaper down there any way. And there are many builders out there who know that one cannot afford guitars that cost tens of thousands of dollars, so it is achievable for the average joe guitar player to get a really nice instrument made for them at good price.  I was visiting with G.W Barry, who built one of my guitars, about the issue last month. From a builders point of view there are some out there who seem to feel as if they have the right to demand a $25 000.00 price tag for their instruments. Without having the rep to back up the investment. From what I’ve heard through various networks those builders don’t  get many customers.       Gord (G.W Barry) on the other hand, and may other guitar makers, who truly love what they do who charge reasonable rates and make an instrument that is often just as good, if not better that the “high price” makers. I do want to make it clear that there are certainly some builders out there( like Manzer and Laskin, on the Canadian side of the border)  who sell at a high price, but have been around longer than almost anyone. They have withstood the test of time and their works speaks for itself. They are great builders.

As more ideas and personal notes regarding the guitar come to mind I will post more. If anyone happens to come across my little blog and has any questions regarding any of what I have said please feel free to respond and ask. I would be glad to answer as soon as I get the chance. Take care guitar players and I will see you next time.

Phil